How do you decide whether to accept an airfare?
 

I have a multi-legger I'm working on...from Sacramento CA to NYC, from Dulles to Rome and then from London back to Sacramento...spread out over about five weeks...when I plug it all into Kayak, I get varying prices, the lowest of which is about $1300 apiece....DW and moi. With no international flying experience in the last twenty years, how do I decide if that is a good airfare or not? This is going to be a very expensive trip for us, so anything other than economy is not a consideration....I would appreciate any and all thoughts on this....thank you for your time,
Dupher

Whether it's a good fare depends on when you're flying. For example, decent price for summer/fall, not good for like February.

Anyways, you can also try breaking the journey and book the SMF-East coast ticket (perhaps on Jetblue), and the roundtrip E. Coast to Europe ticket separately.

Play with all combinations, including going between New York and Washington on AMTRAK on your own.

Thank you for your reply...I neglected to say that the flight began in Sacramento on the 4th of Oct. and returned from Europe on the 13th of Nov.
Dupher

Beware if its United they have so packed in the seats that its all one can do to get in out and the food is something you would not feed a dog, they charge for everything! If on the other hand the flight is done by their partner Lufthansa great service, fair amount of room. There are some pretty good deals out of LA if your inclined to fly there first. We paid 1001 for flights this past April SFO-VCE\FCO-SFO

What are your other dates of travel? How are you getting from NYC to DC? From Rome to London?

You have so many options. Did you try two tix:
1) SMF-JFK, IAD-SMF
2) IAD-FCO, LHR-IAD

or two tickets:
1) SMF-NYC (stopover)- FCO, LON-SMF
2) NYC-WAS-NYC

Once upon a time there was a certain stability in pricing, and you could get an idea of what a good fare would be by seeing what fares were offered the previous year in the season in which you are planning to fly.

This is no longer true. Costs (such as fuel and taxes and landing fees) have increased quite a bit, and the airlines are being much more active in scheduling flights, with some flights consolidated (two airlines sharing a flight, rather than each flying), while others are added only to be dropped if they are not immediately profitable. Also, many more people are flying now than in the years immediately following the 9-11 murders.

I think last-minute purchases are still pricey, but there have been examples where that is not true. I personally would not risk waiting to the last minute (or month) in hopes that a good fare will show up, although if you are buying the pricier refundable tickets, you could always cancel and repurchase if a lower fare appears.

My suggestion now would be to figure out the absolute maximum you could afford, then pick a target that is somewhat lower than that, and check every day to see if tickets at the lower price, or better, appear. Be prepared to buy instantly when a fare you like appears, as there are a lot of people looking for the same thing, and lower fares are usually limited sharply in number. At 60 days prior to your intended departure, if a good fare has not appeared, consider buying at the offered price, or canceling the trip.

I think tourist travel is at its highest when schools are out and the weather is good, so your proposed dates may help in that fewer people will be flying then. Of course, the airlines also know this and if they are really alert, they may reduce the number of flights when there are fewer fliers.

Good luck finding a reasonable fare. Be certain that you are being quoted an open jaw (aka multiple destinations) flight, as they almost always cost less than two one-way tickets. I don't know if flying out of Sacramento is increasing the cost of your flight; a general rule is that flying from a larger airport gives a lower price, and it might be economical to find a cheap way to get to a larger airport to start your trip. I live in Cleveland, and my kids in Columbus and Danville KY often get better prices by driving to our house, leaving their car here, and having me drop them off at the Cleveland Airport.

I very much appreciate your time and effort...I sometimes wish I could get to know such giving people....
Dupher